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Bytes from System iNEWS editors

July 1, 2009

Pair of Third Parties Validates IBM's App Dev Strategy

IBM is reporting that analyst firm Gartner has ranked IBM as the worldwide leader in the application development software space, while Evans Data Corp. found that app dev users were most pleased with IBM in its "Users' Choice: 2009 Software Development Platform" survey.

More specifically, Gartner named IBM the worldwide market share leader in application development based on total software revenue in 2008. This is the eighth consecutive year that IBM continues to lead in this space, IBM says. According to the independent Gartner report, IBM leads the industry with 27.1 percent share in 2008, growing 7.9 percent as compared to the overall segment's growth of 4 percent. Gartner reports the total worldwide market for application development in 2008 was $7.3 billion.

IBM Rational tools also achieved "top honors" in the annual Evans Data Corp. Software Development Platform User Satisfaction survey, IBM reports. Rational was ranked higher than development tool offerings from several competitors, including Microsoft, Oracle, and Sun. The survey was conducted this spring and polled 1,200 worldwide developers. For the first time in four years, Evans Data Corp. expanded the scope of their user satisfaction survey beyond an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) study to instead rate a broader array of development tools, IBM says.

The Gartner report is available for sale, and the Evans Data Corp. is free but requires registration.

Posted by cmaxcer on July 1, 2009 at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2009

Build Your Career, on Your Budget

If you have kids or remember being one, then you definitely know how kids feel about homework. "Isn't going to school work enough?" they'll whine, in less elegant terms. After a long day, you might be tempted to tell them to count their blessings, because when they grow up, they'll be working longer hours with no summer vacation, a house to clean, and bills to pay. (In fact, you've probably already mentioned something to this effect.)

Worst of all, even grown-ups are expected to do homework too! To stay competitive, we need to continue to sharpen our skills, participate in community and industry forums, and network.

I've compiled a list of things you can do for your career based on a variety of budgets. As you'll find, the less money something costs, the more time it generally takes to get the same benefit, and vice versa.

High Budget, Low Time

Is time your most precious commodity? Here are things you can do to boost your career in minimal time, though the cost will be high.

Boot camp. Need certification or training but don't have the time or motivation to study for the next six months? Enroll in an intense boot camp, where you'll get hands-on training for up to one week straight, and leave with your certification or greater understanding of a given topic. These programs are generally all day (as long as a typical work day or longer), and you often work through the weekend if the training is long enough. Also, you can expect to spend several thousand dollars after food, lodging, training, and testing costs are factored in (prices are similar if you choose to have trainers come onsite to your organization). IBM offers plenty of i-focused bootcamp-type courses.

Career counselor. A career counselor can save you a lot of time spent researching best practices for enhancing your career. Services that these professionals can provide include resume building, cover letter sculpting, mock interview practice, and help identifying ideal positions based on your skills, experience, and interest. His/her time won't come cheap, but he/she will likely have insights you'd never find simply by surfing the web.

Moderate Budget and Time Allotment

The tasks in this category will require a considerable money and time investment, but they offer big benefits.

Technical college. You'd likely be surprised to find out how reasonable some of these programs can be. Whether you just need one class to assist in your work/build your resume, or if you're seeking to earn a degree, these colleges offer courses that are targeted at a specific technical skill set. Typically you can take just a class or two a semester on a pay-per-class basis, meaning you can get a degree while working full time in several years. This is a much more cost-efficient alternative to traditional universities, which charge you extra for only taking a class or two per semester, and also force you to take a lot of pre-requisite classes (or "core classes") that won't offer you any benefit.

Self-training certification options. There are a variety of different routes for this path, from comprehensive training programs (which come with video presentations, practice, exams, etc.) which will cost about $1,000, to purchasing a textbook that preps for a exam (likely under $100). Of course, there are also free websites that can help train you for an exam, but you'll have to weed through a lot of less-than-useful material if you take this route. "Self-Training on a Budget," by Mel Beckman, offers some IBM i-specific ideas.

Low Budget, Various Time Allotment

While you can't expect to earn a certification or degree for free, there are things you can do for little or no cost and still improve your skill set or reputation. "IPL Your Career," by Tommy Holden, provides some ideas.

Get on LinkedIn. Through LinkedIn, you can network with professionals in your industry, join related groups, and answer industry questions to build a positive reputation. For more information about using LinkedIn, check out CIO magazine's LinkedIn Bible.

Research career tips. Do your homework on best practices for resume building, cover letter writing, interviewing, and more. Find out what industries and segments are hiring. For instance, I wrote an article on the top nine skills in IT for 2009 on www.windowsitpro.com.

Read industry publications. Industry publications are either free or low-cost, so this is a great way to build your knowledge (says the "unbiased" writer for the industry publication). To prevent missing valuable content due to spikes in your workload, consider subscribing to industry newsletters and RSS feeds. (To subscribe to System iNetwork email newsletters, visit systeminetwork.com/newsletters. Examples of RSS feeds System iNetwork offers include the Industry Bits blog (feeds.penton.com/IndustryBits), Chris Maxcer's Maxed Out blog (feeds.penton.com/MaxedOut), and the Product Lines blog (feeds.penton.com/ProductLines).

Frequent forums. By frequenting industry forums, you'll be able to help other people, build a reputation, and learn new tips and tricks.

Money-making Career Building

Of course, the final option is to consider career-building options that actually pay. While these can be hard to come by, if you have an expertise in a specific field or topic, you may be able to use this to your advantage. Consider the following options:

Industry blogging. Many industry publications are looking for technical bloggers to chime in on industry topics. While you can't expect to get rich off this option, oftentimes you will be paid a small stipend for each blog you write. You can also consider starting your own blog and using Google AdWords to earn a bit of revenue based on page views. WordPress is one site that can help you get a blog started for free.

Writing technical articles. If you have extra time and a specialization in a certain topic, you may be able to write technical articles for an industry publication. The compensation for these articles varies depending on a variety of factors, but it can be a significant income supplement, especially for individuals--such as consultants--who have varying schedules. System iNews is always looking for good technical writers. If you're interested, check out our writer's guidelines.

If you'd like to get started writing technical articles, one great place to start is by writing an article for System iNews' new Reader to Reader section. If you created a useful script, found a hidden gem of an application, or have some other topic that you think would be of use to other readers, consider submitting it to editors@systeminetwork.com. If published, you'll be compensated $50.

As you can see, if you have the drive, there are a number of things you can do to enhance your career. Take a look at your budget, free time, and future interests and determine which activities will offer the most benefit for the least cost.

Resources Linked in This Article:

--Brian Reinholz, training & certification editor

Posted by lharty on June 25, 2009 at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2009

IBM i Vendors Win and Place in IBM's Beacon Awards

Earlier this month, IBM announced the winners of its annual IBM Beacon Awards competition, which recognizes IBM BPs for outstanding delivery of value to clients and innovative approaches to solving business issues. The awards cross most of IBM's solution portfolio, and a handful of IBM i-focused vendors faired well.

MSI Systems Integrators was named the winner of the Outstanding Power of i Business Solution category, while Datapro Computer Systems Co., Ltd. and Vision Solutions Inc. were finalists in the category.

In the Outstanding Enterprise Application Solution by an ISV, ERP heavyweight SAP edged out IBM i-focused VAI and LANSA, who were finalists.

For a full list of categories and winners, check out IBM's Beacon Awards site.

--Chris Maxcer, news editor

Posted by cmaxcer on June 24, 2009 at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2009

Rochester Newspaper Reports IBM Layoffs

The Post-Bulletin in Rochester, Minn., reported Wednesday that at least 68 IBM employees were laid off earlier this year from the Rochester facility where IBM i technologies originate.

The newspaper quoted an official with Rochester's Workforce Development office, who said that 68 people attended a meeting at IBM that was held by the office's Rapid Response team. Those 68 workers were helped in May by monies from the state of Minnesota that were earmarked for education and training. That money will now be covered by a $4.8 million National Emergency Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Of course, we still don't know exactly what it means since the Rochester plant manufactures both IBM i and AIX-based Power Systems; but this reporter has heard suggestions through more than one grapevine that IBM was likely to let go of those employees who favored working on one platform rather than branching out to a more Power Systems-friendly workload.

Still, anyone who did get laid off probably got a pretty darn good assistance package from IBM, as Chris Maxcer reported. And now federal grant money is available for education and training assistance to laid off workers.

We've discussed possible layoffs at IBM in past posts.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor

Posted by rsanders on June 18, 2009 at 2:40 PM | Comments (7)

June 17, 2009

Journals: Like Wheatgrass for Your IBM i

If ever there was something computer related that might be called a panacea, it's journaling. Journaling can help you with security, availability, and backup/recovery. One of the best-known journal gurus in the IBM i industry is, of course, Larry Youngren. Larry has a long history of writing articles for us here at System iNEWS, and I've listed some of his more recent articles here. These are a great way to learn all about journaling, so you can make sure that yours are optimized and that you're using them to their full potential. In addition to reading Larry's articles, you can hear him speak about journaling--right here, in a free webcast. "Coaxing Your Journal to Give Up Its Secrets" is scheduled for July 29, and you can sign up for this free webcast now to ensure that you don't forget about it and that you get a seat. While you're waiting for July 29 to roll around, you can bone up on the journaling world with these articles:

Rapid Weight Gain, Part 2: Dealing with Journal Bloat
Be judicious about setting index logical page size, lest your journal receivers expand and system performance suffer.
June 2009

Rapid Weight Gain, Part 1: Where Did Those Journal Pounds Come From?
Are your journals suddenly bloated and sluggish? Ah ha! Hidden entries may be adding unwanted weight. Find out if your system should go on a diet.
May 2009

V6R1 Journal Recovery Enhancements, Part 2
Better journal-cache control, simplified and refined journal-apply actions, better control of automatic journaling, easier and tidier management of journal receivers, and improved SMAPP screens — in part 2, we continue our look at V6R1's plethora of journal recovery improvements.
July 2008

V6R1 Journal Recovery Enhancements, Part 1
Whether it's more flexible journal treatment, better monitoring for potential traffic jams, prompt detection and enhanced prevention for garbling, or increased bandwidth for remote journal needs, V6R1's practical new features will please journal users.
April 2008

Pseudo Journaling: A New Planning Tool
The new Pseudo Journaling tool lets you get a sense of the impact that journaling will have your system--before you make the leap. You no longer have to just jump blindly and then react to what happens. Know before you leap.
January 2008

The Essential Guide to Remote Journaling (requires free registration)
Remote journaling is becoming an increasingly popular choice for shops that want to ensure that a secondary copy of the most recent database changes are resident in a distant location. This essential guide takes you through the ins and outs of this approach to high availability.
June 2006

Lose the Fat: Put Your Remote Journal on a Diet
Tweak your remote journal environment to ensure that every ounce of energy you invest in your remote transport layer is productively used. Reduce the fat that might otherwise flow down the pipe between the source and the target machine.
February 2006

Remote Journal: Better Plumbing for What Ails You
First developed as a mere plumbing improvement for existing products, remote journal has recently found the limelight and is now being adopted as a premier means of efficiently transporting data changes from one iSeries to another.
January 2006

--Linda Harty, executive editor & security/availability/networking/connectivity editor

Posted by lharty on June 17, 2009 at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2009

IBM i Future Shrouded by Clouds

During the past few months, my head has been in the clouds on more than one occasion--during work hours.

Please don't tell my boss! Oops, I think I just did.

Beyond that indiscretion, I can't seem to understand what is so good about the Cloud. Or specifically, what's so good about it for IBM i? I mean, I get what it is (thanks in part to Wikipedia and our very own Mel Beckman), but I really don't see any benefits for i in the cloud.

In fact, I think i should be a little nervous.

Granted, I didn't talk to Mel before I wrote this, so he may email me and want to lob a virtual brick at me, but I don't get how something that runs on some hidden infrastructure somewhere could be good for the reliable i in your server room--unless, that is, the people running the cloud choose to do so on IBM i.

It used to be (and still is, in many cases) that you bought a server and put some apps on it, bought some PCs, ran some wires through the walls of your building, and networked it all together. But the company IT manager or CIO or whatever his or her title is got to choose the server.

Then the Internet came along and made those networks global. And then wireless and lots of handhelds came along and made them mobile.

And now a virtual back end called the cloud stands to yank the heart of that infrastructure (i.e., the servers and the apps and data) right out of the server room and put it in a cloud. Where is that?

Don't companies want to control who has access to and management of their servers and all the data stored on them? Or is it a matter of controlling costs and paying the wages of a systems manager?

And if the data and apps aren't running on a specific server selected by the company using the information stored on that server, then who gets to say what kind of server the information will run on?

Do you see what I'm saying?

Is IBM i going to lose customers because rather than keep their server infrastructure in house they're putting it in a cloud?

Or are the folks running the cloud going to use IBM i to run all those apps and store all that data? Or will the customers trusting their IT infrastructure to someone else's hands speak up and say, "I want i"? Because i is an obvious choice: Proven virtual technology, reliability, built-in security, lots of processing power.

Google has already started using cloud computing to threaten Microsoft. Google's latest, Apps Synch for Microsoft Outlook, lets people use the email software and store the data in the Google Apps cloud. Poof! No more Exchange.

It makes me more than just a little nervous.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor

Posted by rsanders on June 11, 2009 at 5:46 PM | Comments (11)

May 28, 2009

Cobol Celebrates 50 Years—Alone

Aaah, lucky us. Because we know what Cobol is, right?

C'mon, you know—the COmmon Business-Oriented Language (thank you Wikipedia) created by the Department of Defense, computer manufacturers (IBM was there), and university people to further harness computing and the programming of business applications. It's one of the lovely little languages you can use on IBM's mainframes, or with IBM i.

But what you probably don't know is that it turned 50 on Thursday.

Yes, that's right. Happy birthday Cobol! The meetings (at the Pentagon, no less) that initiated Cobol occurred May 28 and 29 in 1959.

I bet if you had known sooner you would have put on a little party hat and had a piece of cake for the programming language. Perhaps you would have even sung.

But, alas, Cobol celebrated alone—or darn near it.

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Micro Focus (a vendor of enterprise application management and modernization solutions), only one in four survey respondents have heard of Cobol or know what it is.

And, of course, men are more than twice as likely as women to know about Cobol, with 33 percent of male respondents versus just 14 percent of female respondents aware of Cobol's existence. Among age groups, middle-aged respondents (45-54) were most likely to know about Cobol (29 percent), as opposed to younger generations. Of the respondents aged 18-34, only 15 percent knew what COBOL was.

According to the survey results, the average American relies on Cobol at least 13 times per day for routine activities such as making phone calls, using a credit or debit card, and commuting to and from work. All these daily transactions are originally based on Cobol.

And yet three quarters of the surveyed folks are oblivious to the programming language that originally made it all possible.

Datamonitor said in its November 2008 report "Cobol—Continuing to Drive Value in the 21st Century," that

  • Around 200 billion lines of Cobol code are in live operation.

  • 75 percent of the world's business data is processed in Cobol.

  • 90 percent of global financial transactions are processed in Cobol.

  • There are 1.5-2 million developers, globally, working with Cobol code.

  • Around 5 billion lines of new Cobol code are added to live systems every year.

So if you missed the non-existent celebration, don't worry. It isn't too late to spread a little hoopla in honor of the programming language. To commemorate the 50th birthday of Cobol, Micro Focus has launched a social media hub of videos, photos, and Cobol facts at cobol.com.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor

Posted by rsanders on May 28, 2009 at 11:11 PM | Comments (6)

May 27, 2009

Hands Off That Free Screensaver, and Don't Even Think About Music Lyrics

A McAfee study suggests that one of the best ways to get your PC infected with malware is to search the web by using terms such as "screensaver" or by using lyrics from popular songs. So, when it comes to screen savers, perhaps we should all leave well enough alone and stick with our systems' default offerings.

And those music lyrics you want to look up . . . might be safer to just keep singing the wrong words instead!

—Linda Harty, executive editor & security/availability/networking/connectivity editor

Posted by lharty on May 27, 2009 at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2009

LISUG Offers Annual May Education Day for IBM i Enthusiasts on Long Island

Easterners looking for a bit of education to pump up the volume on their resumes have the opportunity to attend a full day of IBM i sessions during the Long Island System Users Group's (LISUG) Annual May Education Day on May 20. Attendees also will have the opportunity to network with retired IBMer Dr. Frank Soltis, the "father" of AS/400 technology, and attend a vendor exposition.

The event features four educational tracks: IBM i (RPG and the Web, RPG and the IFS, pattern to Good ILE with RPG, Accessing External Databases from the Web); Web Technologies (.NET, PHP Lab, The "Hows and Whys" of Virtualization-as-a-Service); Project Management (PMI and PMP, MS Project, PMBOK Project Metrics, Avoiding Confrontation); Career Advancement (Personal Workflow Management, Resumes and Interviewing, Positive Speaking).

LISUG says on its website that it has expanded the event this year to include topics beyond IBM i and RPG because it "has recognized that the focus is not only on enhancing your current technology skills, but also on retaining your current position and/or preparing for the next opportunity. This means learning how to 'market' yourself, finding opportunities, and improving your personal 'value equation.'"

Annual May Education Day will be held at the Melville Marriott in Melville, N.Y. The cost to attend the sessions is $100 for LISUG members, $125 for non-members, and $50 for students. More information is available at lisug.org.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor

Posted by rsanders on May 13, 2009 at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2009

System iNetwork Offers Free Virtual Conference for IBM i Developers

Just a heads up about a free virtual conference for IBM i developers, taking place tomorrow, May 13, 9:30-5:30. EST: Taking You There: IBM i Development Essentials. System iNetwork News Editor Chris Maxcer and I will both be there at various times throughout the day, and we're looking forward to chatting with attendees and seeing what they think of the experience. Of course, the real draw is the top-notch industry experts, such as Jon Paris, Duncan Kenzie, Bob Cozzi, Don Yantzi, Craig Johnson, Bill Langston, and Meg Waters, who will be offering five nitty-gritty webcasts:

  • what's new with IBM i
  • free tools for RPG for the Web
  • PHP is for i
  • increasing ROI and competitiveness with BI
  • RPG and Cobol develepment with RDi

As I mentioned, this is a free event, so given the current state of the economy and its affect on corporate travel and expense budgets, this is an excellent opportunity for you to get some training that you might not otherwise receive this year! You're welcome to hang around all day, but you don't have to--simply pick and choose which sessions you want to attend or drop by the Resource Center to download documents, the Exhibit Hall to visit some virtual booths for solution information, or the Networking Lounge to chat with others in the industry.

If you haven't attended a virtual conference before, you're in for a treat. I was able to get a sneak peek at the conference today, and it is really neat. It reminds me of a video game--without the aliens and the weaponry, of course. Instead, you get a Briefcase, in which you can store presentations, documents, contacts, and more so you'll have them after you leave the conference. Plus, you use the Briefcase to store points to enter prize drawings.

Networking Lounge

Here's how the prize drawings work: Show attendees are automatically entered into prize drawing contests but must meet minimum requirements to qualify to win the prizes. Attendees must receive 250 points to enter the show prize drawings. Attendees gain points by performing various activities such as visiting booths, exchanging Vcards, viewing webcasts, and viewing documents. Points will be calculated at the end of the live event day, 5:30 p.m. Eastern, May 13, 2009. The attendee with the highest number of points will win a Flip Ultra Digital Video Camcorder. The attendee with the second-highest number of points will win one RPG & Beyond Web Conference Full Registration for the 2009 web conference to be held in September. The attendee with the third-highest number of points will win a one-year subscription to System iNEWS ProVIP Expanded Edition. Winners will be notified within one week of the live event date via email. There are also prizes from the virtual show exhibitors; visit each booth for details.

Hope to "see" you there—sign up now!

--Linda Harty, executive editor & security/availability/networking/connectivity editor

Posted by lharty on May 12, 2009 at 2:39 PM | Comments (1)

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